Wisconsin’s woodlands need smart stewardship to withstand a changing climate

To the Editor:

As a proud Wisconsin woodland owner and prior board member of the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association (WWOA), I understand firsthand the importance of managing forests to ensure a strong and sustainable timber harvest, to provide high-quality habitat for wildlife, and to help moderate climate change through thoughtful stewardship of the carbon stored in trees.

Wisconsin is experiencing more extreme weather events — from longer droughts to heavier rainfalls — so how we manage our forests in light of these changes matters. Every aspect of our lives, from fire danger to water quality to our economy, is dependent in part upon having healthy forests. How we manage private forests impacts public forests and vice versa.  

In Wisconsin, how the U.S. Forest Service manages the publicly-owned 1.5 million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest creates a critical baseline. Factors such as pests, fire danger, and long-term forest health and resilience, are all either improved or hindered by the actions of our federal government. Nationally, the federal government manages one-third of the roughly 800 million acres of forest in the US.

Thankfully, there are actions we can take to protect our national forests. The U.S. Forest Service has indicated they want to modernize their approach, with things like incorporating the best available science, using adaptive planning, and addressing the key stressors forests are facing. Doing so will ensure the vitality and sustainability of public forests, both in Wisconsin and across the country, and support the health of privately owned forests as well. 

Kirk Dahl

Eau Claire